Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

Ferret Fighting - Help!?

Recently I bought a deaf kit - eight weeks old - as a companion to my older, year and a half ferret. Understandably, the older one was a bit afraid at first, having not seen another ferret in a year. After a few days, they finally had this moment and began to play, and the bigger ferret even groomed the little one at the end.

However, the fights started almost immediately after. My older ferret caught ECE from the younger ferret and was quite weak for a while, which enabled the little baby kit - small enough to fit into the palm of my hand! - to put the whoop on her. However, she is recovered now and I have been trying to let the ferrets fight it out and get this thing over with. They seem to play reasonably well when they are let out together, except for occasional fights, and their cages have been side by side for a month. However, if you put them together in one cage, it's a huge fight! My older ferret will not fight back offensively and only tries to get away from the baby, who pursues her relentlessly and bites her face and neck. I have tried putting bitter apple spray on my older one's neck and just step away to let them fight it out, but my older ferret looks so sad and will jump at the edge of her cage to try to get away from the baby.

Finally this evening I just decided that I had to be tougher - the fights haven't resulted in pooping, pulled hair, or blood, just a lot of squeals, hissing, and retreats. They have finally stopped fighting continuously, but my older ferret seems totally exhausted and even depressed. If she tries to move or rearrange her position to sleep on top of the other ferret, they hiss and begin to fight again.

Please. I don't want to cause my older ferret depression by having her constantly whooped by the new comer and "put out". But I also don't want to get rid of the baby, I feel that to give her away would be wrong.

I know deaf ferrets can sometimes be meaner, but I can't stand for my first ferret to suffer. Please help. What can I do? Will it take time or is it just hopeless?

3 Answers

Relevance
  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    If you got the other ferret to be friends with your other one it wouldn't be wrong to re home her. I think you have tried your best to make them get along and with ferrets when they get all depressed they get sick easily, cause a lot of times they don't eat Some ferrets just don't get along with other ferrets. I have 2 right a now a girl that's 3 and a boy that's 2, Delilah and Demo! They get along great luckily but your deaf ferret maybe just need to be in a one ferret home. I would try to find her another home. I have adopted and rescued many ferrets for people. =) Im sure someone nice would love a new fuzzy and your older girl will be happy once again.

    Source(s): Many years of experience!
  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    As a former rescue i know a topic or 2 approximately this. Any ferret could combat yet another ferret. that's no longer suitable if it quite is a infant. each and every each and every now and then, they only don't get alongside. lots of the time, they do. All you're able to do is attempt it. commonly, grownup ferrets settle for puppy keep little ones extra effective than they do different grownup ferrets. additionally, if there is tough play, you would know while that's "too tough" in case you hear screaming, see poofed tails (bottlebrush tails), quickly paced dooking "cluck cluck cluck" noises that get quicker and quicker, and concern pee and poop...while a ferret is so scared it tries to flee by potential of defecating and peeing. This all potential that ferret has had sufficient and it's time to split them for a mutually as.

  • 1 decade ago

    seperate them but keep them in close proximity and supervise interactions

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.